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Patriotic Water Bottle Holder

There is a lot of British pride right now, with the

Jubilee and the upcoming Olympics. Flags are everywhere, and there are many items around with the flag worked in unexpected ways It is has also been a gorgeous summer so far, and we are entering the season for fundraising walks and craft fairs. Hence, the water bottle holder! Carry around your hydration while showing your patriotic pride. In case you are not a Brit (even at heart) I included charts for a few other flags below. Note: I have not test knit these other flags, I just charted out what seems right to me. Therefore, I can’t vouch for them. If you’re not sure, test knit just the flag first. Also, know that these charts are not all the same number of stitches, so you may need to change the number of stitches on either side or above and below the flag to fit. It should be easy to figure out, but if anyone wants help designing a custom bottle pattern, let me know. Also, if you want a flag that’s not there, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. diane.scott@gmail.com

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Use size US 5 (3.75mm) straight needles, and DK weight wool. US 5 (3.75) double pointed needles are required for the i-cord strap, but you can also crochet a strap, braid a few strands of wool together, or simply knit a strap in garter stitch. Whatever works for you! You can also knit this pattern in the round, just doing all knit rather than purl in the shaping part and then following the chart in stockinette stitch (knit every round). Cast on 9 stitches in your main colour (in the picture, this is red), leaving a long tail to sew up at the end. Row 1: Purl (wrong side) Row 2: (K1, yo, K1, yo, K1) 3 times (15 stitches) Row 3: Purl Row 4: Knit Row 5: Purl Row 6: (K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1) 3 times (27 stitches) Row 7: Purl Row 8: Knit Row 9: Purl Row 10: (K2, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, K1) 3 times (48 stitches) Row 11-: Purl Row 12: Knit Row 13: Purl Follow the chart below, maintaining stockinette stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side). Right side rows should be knit reading the chart from right to left, wrong side rows from left to right. Feel free to change out stripes or add other colour flourishes to personalize it. Depending on how much experience you have with colour work you may find it easiest to have a few balls of each colour, one on each side and one for the flag. Also, when there is an odd number of rows of a given colour, you may end up on the opposite side of knitting than you need to start the next instance of that colour. No worries, you can just break that yarn and start a new one. Then use these ends to sew up the side seam. There will be lots of ends to weave in, but who’s going to see the inside anyway? After the chart is complete, return to the main colour (red). Row 48:Knit 1 row. Rows 49 - 53: Work five Rows of K2, P1 rib. Cast off loosely in rib pattern. Cast four stitches onto your double pointed needles. Knit an i-cord strap of around 32”. Remember that the weight of the water bottle will stretch the strap, so you can test it out as you knit by inserting a bottle to get the length you want. A shorter strap would make it great to strap a baby buggy, bicycle or other walking ‘accessory’. When you have the correct length, cut the yarn leaving a long tail and feed the tail through the stitches. Sew the strap to the opposite sides of the carrier so that the flag faces the front. Sew up the side seam. I find it best to use a colour that matches the stripe, but you will probably have enough ends that you can use on of these. Weave in your ends. Block for the neatest effect. Notes: To knit an i-cord, knit the row on a double point needle. Instead of turning the work, slides the stitches to the other end of the needle and knit the next row. Repeat. You never turn the work, but simply slide to the other side of the needle after each row. This will create a ‘tube’ of knitting. Continue to the desired length. There are many videos on YouTube that explain better than I can and show the process in action.

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Chart:

Here are some charts for some other flags. These are for the flags only, so would insert where the British flag is above. As some are taller and/or wider, you may need to eliminate some of the stripes to fit these flags. Or, of course, change colours as appropriate! A few extra rows of height or couple of extra stitches wouldn’t matter, but you don’t want to go too much bigger around or it won’t be as good a fit.

Scotland

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Team USA! Just embroider or french knot little stars. Or even beads.

Canada

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France

Italy

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